Buhari Extends Lead, Winning 10 States: Nigerian Election Update

Here are the latest developments, updated throughout the day. (Time-stamps are local time in Abuja.)

Highlights So Far:

Nigerian President Buhari Leads Vote, Opposition Cries Foul Nigeria’s Opposition PDP Says Vote Results Are Being Manipulated Here’s What to Watch for as Nigeria’s Election Results Come in

Ten Out of 16 (12:44pm)

Buhari picks up Kaduna, while Abubakar gains Anambra. That gives Buhari victories in 10 states, compared with five others and the FCT for Abubakar.

In Kaduna, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress garnered 60 percent, compared with 39 percent for Abubakar’s People’s Democratic Party. In Anambra, the APC got 5.5 percent and the PDP 87 percent.

In total, Buhari has 5.41 million votes, compared with 4.37 million for Abubakar, leading by a 54 percent to 43 percent margin.

Another Win for Buhari (11:59am)

Buhari now has wins in nine states, with his APC taking Jigawa state. The APC garnered 72 percent of the vote, compared with 26 percent for Abubakar’s PDP.

Bonds Rally (11:49am)

Naira bond yields have fallen this week on relief that the election was generally peaceful, according to Kevin Daly, a money manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments in London, which oversees $735 billion of assets, including Nigerian debt.

“We all know PDP will contest the result and the fact they’re doing it now, before all results are announced, suggests they know they’ve probably lost,” Daly says.

Buhari wins Niger state (11:28am)

Buhari picks up his eighth state. His APC party garnered 72 percent of the 896,976 votes cast in the ballot, compared with 26 percent for Abubakar, according to INEC. DM